Apparatus for mining and amalgamating gold



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C. ZIMMERMAN. APPARATUS POR MINING AND` AMALGAMATING GOLD. No. 351,728 Patented Oct. Z6, 1886.

(No Model.)

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(No Mdel.)

Patented Oct. 26, 1886.

I JV VEN TOR WI'TJV'ESSES (No Model.) S'Sheets-Sheet 3.

C.v ZIMMBRMAN.

APPARATUS PON MINING AND AMALGANIATINGr GOLD.

No. 851,728. 4 Patented 0013.26, 1886.

. WTJV'ES/SES l JV'VENTOR ANNA m, l y i .dttorney UNITED STATES CASPERv ZIMMERMAN, OF TOMAH, .WISCONSIN PATENT OFFICE.

APPARATUS FOR MINING AND AMALGAMATING GOLD.

SPECIFICATIN forming part of Letters Patent No. 351,728, dated October 26, 1886.

Application filczl April 16, 1886. Serial No. 199,072. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, CASPER ZIMMERMAN, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of declare that the following is a full, clear, and

exact description of the invention, whiclifwill enableothers skilled lin the art to which it appertains to make and puse the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings',

which form a'part of this specification, and in which- Figure l is a perspective view showing my improved gold mining and separating or amalgamating apparatus in position for operation.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the entire Fig. 3 is a perspective detailview/ apparatus. of the upper end of the sinking-tube and of the dirt-conveying tube; and Fig-4 is a similar view of the lower end of the dirt-conveying tube.

. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the gures.

My invention has relation to that class of mining and amalgamating apparatus in which the dirt containing the mineral is carried over surfaces coated with quicksilver, whichwill absorb the precious metal, while the dirt will pass away; and it consists in the improved construction and combination of parts of an apparatus in whichv a tube is sunk throughthe loose dirt down to the so-called bed-rock, frin'the surface of which the mineral vis removed by means of amalgamfthe dirt lin the meanwhile being carried over a surface covered with quicksilver, which will absorb any particles of mineral, and in the improved method of mining and amalgamating the mineral, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A indicates a derrick of a sufficient height, and constructed in such a manner that it may easily be taken apart and transported, and the top of this derrick has a plate, B, supported between the upper ends of the uprights, providedwith a perforation, C, while one leg of the derrick has a windlass,` D, secured to it, upon which windlass a rope or chain, E, is

wound, which rope passes over a pulley, F, supported at the top of the derrick.

G is a metallic tube of a sufficient diameter to allow a man to work within it, and the lower end of this tube is provided with a number of cleats, H H, between which pass staves or str-ips l, which may be forced down so as to rest against an uneven surface and close the bot-tom of the tube. `The inner side of the tuloe is provided with a ladder, J, by means of which a person within-a tube may ascend or descend, and the upper end of the tube `is providedwith a hinged bail, K, to which the lower hooked end of a long screw, L,l may be attached, the said screw passing through the perforation in the platesupported at the upper end of the derrick, and having a nut, M, above the plate, provided with arms N, by means ot' which it may be revolved upon the screw, the revolving of the nut upon the screw either raising or lowering the tube.V

An endless elevator-chain, O, passes over wheels P upon a shaft, Q, journaled transversely inthe lower end of the tube, and over wheels- R upon a shaft, S, journaled transversely in the upper end ofthe tube, and the buckets T of thiselevator may be emptied at the top of the tube into a spout, U, projecting laterall, audmdownwardly inclined from the top of the tube. The top of the tube is provided with brackets V V, which form bearings at theirends, one bracket at each side of the spout, and a short shaft, WV, is journaled in the bearing of one bracket, and is provided with' a sprocket-wheel, X, upon its outer end, over which wheel passes a chain, Y, which also passes over a lsimilar wheel, Z, upon the outer end of the shaft Q. To said shaft, outside of t the wheel Z, is secured the drive-wheel B', to

which the power from the motor is applied in any .ordinary manner.

The inner end of the shortshaft is provided with a cog wheel or pinion, C', which meshes with a crown-rim, D', upon the upper end of the inclined conveyertube E', and an annular frame, F', having anti-friction rollers G journaled 'longitudinally between the annular framepieces H of which thefrarne is composed, iits around the conveyer-tube below the crownrim,having the tube revolving within it, and is supported by arms l l', which are hinged to the short shaft and to the bearing at the other side of the spout, so that the conveyer-tube may be raised or lowered at its lower end, placing it at different angles.

An annular frame, J', consisting of annular frame-pieces K K,having rollers L journaled with their ends between them, tits around the lower end of the conveyer-tube, bearing with its upper frame-pieeeagainst a iiange, M', upon the tube, and the end of the rope or chain, winding upon the windlass of the derrick, is secured to this frame, so that the tube may be set at any angle by means of the windlass.

A tube, N', havingits inner side coated with quieksilver, the tube being copper, fits within the eonveyer-tube, and is held within the same by means of a cap, O', having an inwardlyprojecting annular flange at its lower end, which bears against the lower end of the tube and fitting upon the lower end ofthe conveyer-tube, having two L-shaped slots in its upper edge, which may be slipped upon two later ally-proiecting pins, l1', upon the conveyertube.

A frame, Q', is placed at the lower end of the couveyert.ube,and extends to the place at which it is desired to deliver the dirt, and this frame is formed with transverse bearings R R at its ends, in which revolve shafts S and T, both having wheels U upon theirmiddles, and one, S, having a sprocket-wheel, Vf, upon its outer end, to which power from the motor is imparted in any ordinary way. An endless eonveyer-belt, X', passes over the wheels upon the shafts in the frame, and the dirt may fall from thelower end of the conveyor-tube down upon the conveyerbelt and be carried off to the place at which it is desired to dump it. Then the apparatus is used, the tube is sunk through the surface dirt, the elevator andthe conveyer carrying the dirt up from the bottoni of the tube and olf from the entire apparatus, and after the lower end of the tube has reached the so-called bed-rock all dirt within the tube is cleared away, and the staves or strips at the lower end of the tube are driven down, so as to keep all sand and dirt from entering the lower end of the tube, as it often happens that the said rock is not level, but may beinclined or rough, so that the level end of the tube would not stand upon the rock, and after the dirt has been cleared away the person within the tube may wash ott the surface of the rock with a large sponge or similar object, and thereupon remove all particles of minera-l in the surface of the rock, by using an amalgam composed of quicksilver and lead filings of the consistency of fresh-churned butter, the amalgam absorbing all traces of mineral upon the surface of the bed-rock. .s

The Quicksilver coating upon the inner side of the tube within the conveyer-tube will absorb all particles of mineral which may be contained in the dirt as it passes through the tube, and in this manner all the mineral will be removed from that spot,.it being a simple matter to obtain the gold from the amalgam and to separate the Quicksilver for further use.

After the tube has been sunk at one place it may be sunk at another place adjoining it, the derriek being preferably of a sufficient width at its foot to allow the tube to be sunk at several places within its foot before moving it. The conveyor-tube, being revolved, will expose the entire surface of the copper tube to the dirt as it passes through it, and by raising or lowering the outer end of the tube the dirt will pass more or less freely through the tube. The main tube is raised by means of the screw after all gold has been removed from one hole made by the tube, the screwexerting great power in drawing the tube .up with the expenditure of only slight power in turning the nut upon the same.

It will be seen that by this method of mining all the mineral is obtained in a convenient form, andthe dirt is conveyed in a dry or nearly dry form to any desired place, preventingit from polluting the water in adjacent streams, rendering the apparatus very desirable in regions where hydraulic mining is prohibited by law.

Throughout the specification I have fully described all the operating parts of the apparatus, some of which have heretofore been used in different combinations and for different purposes, and I do not claim the old parts in their old combinations; but the following new constructions and novel combinations Ido claim as myinvention, viz:

l. In an apparatus for mining and amalgamating gold, the combination of a derrick, a vertical tube suspended from said derrick, a bucket-elevator within the tube, said tube being large enough to permit a man to work within it around the elevator, a revolving tube for receiving the contents of the elevator, provided with means for raising or lowering its inclined outer end, an amalgamator-tube within the revolving tube, and aconveyer for carrying the dirt from the end of the inclined tube, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In an apparatus for mining and amalgamating gold, the combination of a large vertical tube havingv an elevator within it, and having a sprocket-wheel upon the end of the upper elevator-shaft, a short shaft jonrnaled in a bracket at the upper end of the tube, andhaving a sprocket-wheel at its outer end connected to the wheel upon the elevator-shaft by a chain, and having a pinion upon its inner end, an annular frame hinged upon the short shaft and upon a bracket upon the upper en d of the tube, and having longitudinal anti-friction rollers, an annular frame having longitudinal antifriction rollers and supported by a rope or chain from above the upper annular frame, a tube revolving within the annular frames having a flange bearing against the upper end of the lower frame, and havingits upper end projecting around a discharge-spout of the vertical tube, and provided at the upper end with ICO a crown-rim engaging the pinion and at the lower end with laterally-proj ecting pins,a cap having au' inwardly-projecting iiange at its lower end and tt-ing upon the lower end of the tube, and having L-shaped slots in its upper end fitting upon the pins, and a copper tube having `its inner side coated with quicksilver, as and-for the purpose shown and set forth.

3. In an apparatus for mining andamalgarnating gold,^the combination of a derrick having aplate supported at its upper end formed v with a perforation, a vertical large tube provided with a ladder within it and with an elevator, and having ahinged bail at its upper end, `a screw having its lower hooked end engaging the bail and having its upper threaded portion passing through the perforation in the formed with aperforato'n, a vertcallarge tube havinga ladder and an elevator within it, and provided with a hinged bail at its upper end,

a-screw having its lower hooked end engaging the bail7 and having'its upper end passing 3o through the perforated plate at the top of the derrick, and provided with a nut above the plate having means for turning it, an inclined revolving conveyer-tube having an interiorv copper tube coated interiorly with quick- 35 silver, a windlass upon one leg of the derrick having a rope or chain passing from it over a pulley at the top of the derriek and secured to the outer end of the conveyer-tube, and an endless conveyer at the end of theinelined con- 40 veyer-tube7 as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereunto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CASPER ZIMllrIERll/IAN.

Witnesses:

(l. EMMETT Quiere', JAY MosHER. v 

